


The Nose Knows

by MaxWrite



Category: British Actor RPF, Harry Potter RPF
Genre: M/M, RPF, Scents & Smells, Twincest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-11-05
Updated: 2007-11-05
Packaged: 2017-10-24 18:44:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/266659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaxWrite/pseuds/MaxWrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver finds himself undeniably drawn to his brother’s scent.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Nose Knows

James walked quickly to the car and got in. “Hey. Thanks for picking me up.”

“No problem,” said Oliver as he began to pull away from the gym. “What happened to Jon? You came with him, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. I would’ve driven myself in the first place if he hadn’t offered. But he had to take off early; family thing.”

“Ah,” Oliver nodded.

“Hope he can still come out tonight.”

“Right, you’re going out.”

“Yeah. You should come.”

Oliver shrugged and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Nah. Not my thing.”

“What’s not your thing, having fun?” asked James, looking over at him with a grin.

“The whole club scene. You know I don’t dance.”

“No, you _can’t_ dance. That’s different.”

Oliver smiled at that and shifted in his seat a bit.

“You okay?” asked James.

“Yeah. Why?”

“You seem agitated.”

“What, more so than usual?” asked Oliver, glancing at him with an arched eyebrow.

James pointed a finger at him. “Ah, good one. The get-yourself-before-I-get-you tactic. I like it.”

“I’m fine. I’m just fidgety.”

“How come?”

Oliver took a deep breath as he thought quietly for a moment. “Dunno,” he said.

They finally arrived home, pulled into their drive and got out of the car. James got to the front door first and unlocked it. He strode into the house, dropped his gym bag by the door, kicked off his shoes and headed for kitchen.

Oliver walked in behind him and stood at the door alone for a moment, staring in the direction James had gone. He wanted to go off and do his own thing, but for some reason felt compelled to follow James. With a shrug, he shut and locked the door and headed for the kitchen.

James was just shutting the fridge door when Oliver walked in. He twisted the top off a cold bottle of water and began drinking, tilting his head back and gulping the water down. The bottle was half empty when his eyes popped open and he looked sidelong at his brother. He lowered the bottle and asked, “What?”

Oliver had settled in the doorway, leaning against it, hands in his pockets, staring at James’s neck. His eyes shot up to meet James’s now and he cleared his throat and straightened up. “What?” he echoed.

“You all right?”

“Yeah. Why d’you ask?”

“You seem kinda … out of it.” James proceeded to drain the rest of the water as he waited for Oliver to say something, but Oliver remained silent. When the bottle was empty, he lowered it from his face and, frowning, stepped toward his brother. “Ol?”

“Hm?”

“What’s with you?”

“Nothing’s _with_ me,” said Oliver.

“Is there something you wanna talk to me about?”

“No.”

James cocked his head. “Really? Nothing at all?”

Oliver considered. “Is there something you think I wanna talk to you about?”

“Well, yeah. It’s kinda obvious.”

Oliver frowned, confused. “Well, by all means, enlighten me.”

“Every time I come home from the gym, you go all weird.”

Oliver began to respond, but then he closed his mouth, stopping to think about what James had just said. Was that true? Did he begin acting differently towards James after his workouts? “Um …” he began, his eyebrows knitted together. “Really?”

“Yeah! You’re doing it now! You hadn’t noticed?”

“No. I mean, I don’t think so.”

“Well, clearly you have something to say about my working out.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Oh, really?” asked James sceptically. “You don’t have a problem with it?”

“No.”

“You don’t think it’s foolish of me, that I might become visibly larger than you?”

Oliver blinked at him. “You’re already visibly larger than me.”

“And you can’t stand it!” said James, pointing at him and grinning triumphantly.

“James, I really couldn’t care less. It’s not that big a difference. You can’t really see it on screen.”

“You can if you look closely.”

Oliver raised his eyebrows at him. “And you’ve been looking closely, have you?”

“No!” James looked away from him quickly, went and tossed his empty water bottle into the recycling bin. “Course not.”

“Uh-huh.” Oliver smiled to himself at the thought of his brother examining his own physique on screen, brow furrowed in concentration, remote control poised to rewind and re-watch his own movements in slow motion. “Look, I don’t have a problem with you working out. As long as you don’t get freakishly humongous on me, I don’t care.”

“Sure, sure,” said James, waving a hand at him. “I’m gonna take a shower. Could you answer my phone if it rings?”

“Yeah. Where is it?”

“In my gym bag,” called James on his way out. “Thanks.”

Oliver vaguely wondered who James was expecting a call from as he strolled back out to the front door. He picked up James’s bag and brought it upstairs to James’s room. On his way, he passed by the bathroom. The door was closed, the light was on inside and Oliver could hear an electric razor buzzing away.

Inside James’s room, he stepped over t-shirts and socks, an empty guitar bag and several song books. He set the gym bag down on James’s bed, unzipped it and went rummaging inside for James’s phone. He found it quickly enough, but didn’t close the bag right away. Instead he sat on the bed next to it, frowning to himself. He didn’t want to close the bag and leave the room, and he didn’t know why.

James emerged from the bathroom shirtless, and dropped the shirt he’d been wearing onto a small pile in the corner. “Hey,” he said, grabbing his bath robe from inside the closet.

“Hey,” Oliver replied absently.

James was about to leave when he noticed the slightly confused expression on Oliver’s face. “You’re still being weird.”

“Hm?” Oliver looked over at him. “No, it’s nothing.”

James arched an eyebrow and walked over to him. “That’s definitely not a ‘nothing’ face, Ol. What’s up?”

“Well …” Oliver had no idea what to tell his brother. He inhaled deeply through his nose and caught a whiff of something on the air. Oliver recognised that scent immediately as James’s scent, intensified by his workout. But it was more than that. There was something else Oliver couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Oliver’s groin tugged at him unexpectedly and he slowly looked up at James, who was staring down at him with mild concern.

“Dude, what is wrong?” James asked, tilting his head a bit. But suddenly his expression changed, relaxed, as though something was dawning on him.

Seeing the change in James’s expression, Oliver quickly stood and began walking away. “It’s nothing, James, okay? I’ve got your phone and I’ll get it if it rings.”

“Okay,” said James uncertainly, watching Oliver hurry from the room.

 

* * *

With his bedroom door closed and locked, Oliver lay on his bed, eyes closed, breaths ragged, as he fisted his prick. He opened his eyes for a moment and promptly shut them again. Somehow having his eyes shut made this all a bit easier, as though not being able to see meant this wasn’t quite real.

He listened to the faint sound of the shower running across the hall and couldn’t help but picture his wet, naked brother standing beneath the spray, his long limbs and his wet pubic hair. Finally he had to clamp his free hand over his eyes altogether, trying and failing to block out the image. He stared at James’s body in his mind, blatantly eyeing James’s crotch and his backside, until he began to come.

He lay there on his back afterward, staring at the ceiling, eyes darting. He tried to think back, tried to find a precedent for this. The first thing that came to mind was gym class back when they were in school together. Young and nervous about changing in front of other boys, they’d stayed close to each other, changing side-by-side.

The next thing that came to mind was the playground, running around, chasing and being chased, on a warm spring day; sunlight glowing and heating their skin, making them sweat.

Oliver finally cleaned himself off and sat up. He still didn’t understand what had just happened. He couldn’t possibly have been aroused by his brother’s scent. That was impossible, wasn’t it?

The water in the bathroom stopped running. Oliver’s stomach lurched. He stood and went to his mirror, checked his appearance, smoothed down his hair and then went to unlock his bedroom door.

The knock on the door that soon came made Oliver jump. He glanced around his room for something he could pretend he’d been doing all this time. Coming up empty, he raced over to grab James’s phone off his bedside table and plopped down on the bed, scooting back until his back was to the wall. With one leg raised so he could casually rest an arm on his knee, he began fiddling with James’s phone, trying to look engrossed in the task of snooping through James’s phonebook and text messages. “Come in!” he called.

James opened the door and entered. His hair was damp and sticking up all over. He was wrapped in his bathrobe.

“Hey, anybody call?”

“Nope,” Oliver replied, not looking up at him.

“What’re you doing?” James asked with a grin, approaching the bed.

“Nothing.”

“There’s nothing in there of interest, so you might as well hand it over.” James sat on the edge of the bed, not far from Oliver. Oliver gulped. “Come on, give it to me before I have to take it by force.”

Oliver handed it over. James took it from him and immediately began playing with it too. Oliver watched him quietly for a moment, examining his profile and the hairy leg and bit of thigh that became visible when James crossed his legs.

“Can I ask you something?” said Oliver.

“Sure,” said James without looking up.

“How do you think the smell thing works with identical twins?”

This made James stop and look around at his brother. “I beg your pardon?”

“You’re not supposed to like the natural scent of your family members, right? I mean their pheromones, you know? You can’t be attracted to them.”

“Erm, right,” said James with a confused frown.

James’s frown made Oliver’s stomach twitch with nerves. He wondered if he was pushing it with these questions, if James would be able to figure out what was wrong. He pressed on anyway, heart thumping in his throat. “Well, how does that work with identical twins? I mean, their scents would be the same.”

James shifted a bit to see him better. “Well, you can’t be attracted to your own scent either.”

“True, but what happens when your scent is someone else’s scent? You’re not attracted to your own scent, but you can’t possibly find it unpleasant either. So … what happens when that sort of neutral scent also belongs to someone you care for and love?”

“Er …” James paused, considering that. Oliver, frozen and barely breathing, watched him closely for any signs of recognition. “Well, nothing, I would imagine. I mean, why would it make any difference? If you’re related, you still shouldn’t be attracted to each other, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Why are you asking?”

“No reason. Was just thinking too much, I guess.” Oliver smiled sheepishly.

“You do that a lot,” said James, standing up and heading for the door. “I’ll be outta here in thirty minutes or so. You sure you don’t wanna come?”

“No, I’ll be fine.”

“You _sure?”_ James turned back to him at the door. “Last chance.”

Oliver smiled. “Go, James, have fun. I … have some more thinking to do.”

James rolled his eyes. “Course. See you later.”

 

* * *

Seconds after James left the house, Oliver emerged from his bedroom. He was alone, but still somehow felt as though he was being watched.

He crept into James’s bedroom. He left the harsh ceiling light off and switched on the softer, less accusatory light of a lamp instead.

There was the gym bag sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed. He approached it and peered down at it. It was still open, and Oliver could see part of James’s gym towel, the dark burgundy of his sweatpants, and something else he hadn’t noticed before. He bent over and reached inside, took hold of something light gray and thin and pulled it out.

He knew what it was almost as soon as he began to tug on it. He straighten up and found himself standing there holding a pair of James’s underwear, the same ones he’d been wearing while working out that day. Oliver gulped. He felt very strongly that he shouldn’t be doing this, but he couldn’t bring himself to put the underwear back.

 _Don’t smell them,_ he begged himself. _Do not smell them. Just put them back and walk away._

But he was raising them to his face, slowly and with a shaky hand.

 _You won’t be able to turn back after this,_ he warned himself. _You’ll forever be The Man Who Sniffed His Brother’s Pants. You don’t want that. Just put them down and walk away. Just put them down and – ah, shite!_

They’d reached his nose, were close enough to smell, and he did. He inhaled for just a second, but it was enough for the subtle musk scent to start setting off little bursts of recognition in his brain. _James,_ he thought. Against his better judgement, he inhaled again, and immediately his mind called out, _James._

He finally lowered them from his face and stared at them, lightly fingered the soft, gray fabric, moved up to the white elastic waistband, stretched it a bit. Then he peered inside, down at the crotch. He reached a tentative hand inside, took hold of the crotch and pulled the underwear inside-out. His fingers remained there, feeling the fabric that had cradled his brother’s genitals, finding himself inexplicably fascinated by it, by the very notion that he was now holding in his hands an object that had been mashed right up against the bare skin of his brother’s most private parts.

He lowered the his hand completely and stared off at nothing, trying to sort out his own thoughts, find some logic in what was happening to him now. Why should he suddenly be so fascinated by the very act of holding James’s underpants? Why did the scent of James’s body suddenly make his heart race and his cock twitch?

Then he had another thought: had his body always reacted to James this way? If this had always been the case, why would it strike him as strange? They were twins. This was part of their world. They had no real frame of reference for this kind of thing. It’s not like people talked about it.

He bent over and shoved the underwear back into the bag, straightened up and stalked from the room, determined to find some semblance of normalcy somewhere, somehow. He would call a friend and invite him over. They’d talk. They’d watch a movie. They’d order in. They’d drink beer. They’d be normal. Perfectly normal.

 

* * *

“Later, Pete,” Oliver called, waving good and shutting the front door. With his friend gone and the house empty again, he instantly began to feel uneasy. He stood there a moment, listening to the quiet and sensing, as he had all night, that there was something just off to the side, just out of his line of sight, waiting for him, almost taunting him. It was big and scary and had been waiting to get him alone.

He bolted from the door and into the living room where he began to clean up, putting all his concentration into the task of removing the pizza box and the beer empties and putting the DVDs back in their proper cases and putting them back exactly where they’d been before in their neat rows on the shelves. When he was done, he stood back and surveyed his work. Everything looked fine, except, for the first time, he noticed the DVDs weren’t in alphabetical order. How had he never noticed this before?

And so, at two in the morning Oliver set to work alphabetising his and James’s DVDs. When that was finished, he moved almost seamlessly into alphabetising their video games.

When that was complete, he went to the kitchen to clean up any dishes left lying around. For no reason in particular he opened the fridge and noticed immediately a few items here and there that needed to be thrown out. He chucked them and then couldn’t help but notice that the fridge itself was long overdue for a good cleaning.

 

* * *

It was 3:30am before Oliver finally stopped cleaning. When he’d finished organising the closet by the front door, he straightened up, surveyed his work and wiped the moisture from his brow. _Now what?_ he thought.

He barely had time to consider answers to that question before he heard a key clicking in the lock behind him.

James looked up at him and smiled as he entered. “What’re you doing up?”

“Uhh … cleaning.”

“Cleaning?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“Huh.” James shut and locked the door and approached the closet. Oliver stepped aside. “I’m impressed,” James said with a nod. “Nice work.” And with that, James gave Oliver a sharp clap on the arm, grinning at him. Oliver laughed nervously.

“So, what’ve you been doing all this time?” asked James, taking his shoes off and setting them down next to the others more neatly than he normally would have so as not to upset Oliver’s work. “Besides making the house all pretty for me, that is.”

“Oh, nothing. Had Peter over.” Oliver shrugged. “We ordered in. There’s leftover pizza if you want.”

“Aww. A clean house and food waiting. I knew I married you for a reason.”

Oliver gave another nervous laugh as James passed by him and headed for the kitchen. Oliver caught a whiff of him as he went and smelled a mixture of things, mostly just smoke from whatever club or bar he’d been to. But underneath that lay the scent of James himself, with the faint tang of sweat mixed in. Oliver gulped, stood there watching James as he disappeared into the kitchen. Oliver hesitated, thinking he should flee to his bedroom, but he couldn’t leave. He had to follow.

“You shoulda come,” said James with a mouthful of pizza when Oliver joined him. He was leaning back against the countertop, trying to screw the cap off a beer bottle while also holding his pizza slice. “It was pure laughs tonight. You missed a million jokes – Oh, thanks.”

Oliver had approached, had taken the bottle from him and opened it for him. “You’re welcome. I just hate to see you struggle like that,” he said with a grin, handing the bottle back.

James giggled and sipped his beer. He frowned as he swallowed, as though he’d just thought of something. He took another bite of pizza while pointing at Oliver with the neck of his beer bottle as best he could without spilling it.

“What?” asked Oliver.

James chewed and finally swallowed and replied, “You’re horny.”

Oliver blinked in surprise. “Beg pardon?”

“You are. I can tell,” said James, grinning mischievously.

“How, just by looking at me?”

“No. It’s something else.”

“Such as?”

“Dunno.” James took another bite and frowned at Oliver as he chewed. He finally shrugged. “I can just tell.”

Oliver was just as perplexed by this as James was until he thought of something. “Have you always been able to tell when I’m … well …”

“Horny.”

“Yes, that.”

“Um … yeah. I never thought about it before, but far as I know I always could. I noticed it earlier too, in my bedroom. ’S why you were acting so weird, wasn’t it?”

“Well … maybe,” Oliver mumbled, looking down and shrugging.

James rolled his eyes. “That’s no reason to go all weird. You really should try to relax one of these days, you know.”

“Humph.”

“Anyway, why are you asking?”

“No reason.” Oliver stepped back a bit, leaned back against the countertop and lowered his face.

“You know, you’ve been acting weird since I got home from the gym. Seriously, what’s up?” James closed the gap between, stood close, sipping beer and munching pizza and watching his twin curiously.

With a frown, Oliver turned away and headed out of the kitchen. “Nothing’s up. I just need some space.”

James stood frozen, staring at the kitchen doorway for a moment in surprise. Finally he set his food down and went after his twin. “Oi!” he called. He caught up to Oliver and clamped a hand down on his shoulder, roughly spinning him around. “What is wrong with you? Are you angry at me for something?”

“No,” grumbled Oliver, shrugging James’s hand away.

“Yes, you are. What, are you upset that I went out without you? I asked you a million times today if you wanted to come.”

“It’s not that.”

“So, there is something, then. What is it? Just tell me.”

Oliver was about to insist once more that he was fine, but then he looked up into James’s eyes and deflated a bit. He could see that James wasn’t angry at him; he was worried.

Oliver sighed. “I’m not upset with you, I swear.”

“What then?” whimpered James, stepping closer, close enough for Oliver to smell him.

“God,” Oliver said under his breath, looking toward the ceiling for a moment as he wondered if he could really tell James what was wrong. “James, I’ve recently become very … acutely aware of certain … responses … within myself.”

“Responses? To what?”

“To … well, to you.”

James frowned. “Have I done something?”

“Not on purpose, no. It’s something neither of us can control.”

“Erm … right. Listen, I’m gonna go back and get my food. If you could start making sense by the time I come back, that’d be great, all righty?”

“No, wait.” Oliver stopped him, grabbing his arm as he was turning away. “I’m sorry. It’s just difficult to admit this.”

James stayed quiet, waiting patiently for Oliver to continue.

“I like …” Oliver began, eyes downcast, “… the way you smell.”

James blinked. “Um … Okay. I feel like it’s my turn to speak, but I have no idea what to say to that.”

“James, I’m _attracted_ to your smell,” Oliver clarified, finally looking into James eyes.

James continued to stare at him until something finally occurred to him. His features relaxed as realisation began to set in. “When you asked me earlier about twins and pheromones and things –”

“That was about us. Er, well, me.”

James turned this news over in his mind for a while in silence. Finally he wandered away, into the living room, where he plopped down on the couch and just sat staring.

Oliver approached cautiously; stopping at one end of the couch, watching him worriedly. “James? Are you all right?”

“I dunno.” He looked up at Oliver. “What does that mean exactly?”

With a sigh, Oliver went and sat next to him. “It means I’m aroused by your scent. That may always have been the case, but I never noticed it before.”

“How come?”

“I don’t know. It may be that it was always such a natural part of me that it never struck me as odd before. I hadn’t made the connection until now.”

“How do you know it’s my scent that’s doing it?”

“Oh, I’m sure. No confusion there, trust me.”

As James sat there in silence, staring off, Oliver looked away too, unsure now what to do or say. He simply waited quietly, his nerves wreaking havoc inside him; he bounced his left leg incessantly and wrung his hands in his lap. He stopped only when he sensed movement to his right. He looked around and found that James was leaning in toward him, coming closer and closer, eyes trained on his neck.

“What’re you doing?” Oliver asked, leaning away.

“Come back, I’m gonna smell you.”

“What? Why?”

“I want to see what happens?”

“James, no, stop.” Oliver gently pushed him away.

“Why? Don’t you wanna know if I’m affected the same way?”

“Well, I assume you’re not if you haven’t noticed it yet.”

“Why? You only just noticed it today. Maybe there was a trigger of some kind,” he said thoughtfully. “Have you eaten anything strange recently?”

“No,” Oliver laughed.

“Well, just let me smell you.”

“Do you _want_ to be affected the same way?”

“Well …” James shrugged. “I dunno. I’m kind of curious now.”

“Yeah?”

James nodded, looking earnestly at his twin. Oliver studied him for a moment and then finally relented. He leaned toward James and craned his neck, offering James a good spot to sniff.

With a nervous little giggle, James leaned in again. He put his nose as close to Oliver’s neck as he could without touching it and inhaled.

“Well?” asked Oliver.

“I dunno. You just smell like you.”

“Well, I know _that.”_

“I mean I don’t feel anything,” James laughed. Oliver couldn’t help but laugh too.

“Well, if nothing’s happening, do you mind if I stop tilting my head like this? I’m getting a cramp.”

James didn’t reply. Instead he took hold of Oliver’s collar and pulled it down a bit, exposing his clavicle. He blatantly pressed his nose to the smooth, lightly freckled ridge and inhaled loudly.

“James!” Oliver laughed. He half-heartedly tried to nudge James away with his forearm. James ignored this and continued to sniff him, burying his nose in the hollow above the collar bone, alternately giggling and smelling.

The change was barely perceptible, but quickly became evident. Warmth began to flood James’s body, his twin’s familiar scent filling his nose and his mind, triggering all sorts of memories. Images of his brother, much younger, running through the backyard in their childhood home, pink-cheeked and tousled and moist with sweat, trying to keep the ball away from James, grunting when James tackled him and knocked him to the grass, laughing when the ball was forgotten and roughhousing ensued. They pinned each other and grabbed each other and rolled around together …

James looked slowly up at Oliver’s face.

“What?” Oliver frowned down at him. The confused look on James’s face alarmed him. He sat up and leaned away again. “What?”

“I think I know what you’re talking about,” James replied quietly, sitting up too. He stared straight ahead for a long, quiet moment. Finally he asked, “How long have you been feeling this?”

“Just since today. When I picked you up. You’d been sweating, so it was really noticeable.”

“Does it … bother you?”

“Bother me?”

“Do you think it’s, like, wrong or something?”

Oliver hesitated. “Um … I don’t know. We haven’t acted on it, so I guess it’s not a big deal.”

“Do you want to?”

“James!” Oliver laughed and looked away. “Don’t be stupid. Of course not.”

“Really?”

The softly serious and somewhat challenging tone of James’s voice made Oliver’s smile fall away. He looked back over at his brother to find that James was watching him intently.

“It’s nobody’s business but ours,” said James with a shrug, finally looking away and adopting a more casual demeanour. “I mean, if we wanted to … I dunno. Whatever.”

“Well … do you want to?”

“I asked you first.”

“So? I asked you second.”

With a sigh and an amused roll of his eyes, James looked away. Oliver thought that might be the end of it, so he looked away too. He went over the brief conversation they’d just had in his head, wincing at some of his own words and mulling over some of James’s. It seemed as though James might be interested in trying something, but Oliver wasn’t about to be that presumptuous.

He hardly had time to think about the consequences of making a move, however, as the next thing he knew James was making his own. There was movement on the couch next to Oliver. He glanced over and found that James had scooted closer, pressing against his side, and before he knew it James was pressing an awkward kiss to his mouth.

James could feel his own heart pounding as he pressed his lips more firmly against Oliver’s. _Okay, this isn’t so strange,_ he thought. _We can drink from the same glass, can’t we? This is just like that._

Except that it wasn’t quite just like that, and James had the overwhelming urge to make the kiss deeper. He did so almost without thinking, opened his mouth and licked at his brother’s lips. He realised what he’d done and opened his eyes just as Oliver pulled away and started laughing.

“What?” said James, eyes wide. “I was just … I didn’t mean … It was an accident!”

Oliver glanced at him and snorted a bit as he laughed. “Was not. That tongue was deliberate.”

“Well …” James relaxed a bit and couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe a bit, yeah. Was that okay? You seem a bit … thrown off by it.”

“Uh, yeah. Maybe. I dunno. Oh, my god, this is weird,” said Oliver as his laughter subsided.

“You’re very pink. Look at you, your cheeks are on fire.”

“Are they?” Oliver touched a hand to his cheek as though feeling for heat.

“Wanna try again?” James asked sheepishly. “It wasn’t so weird, was it?”

Oliver shrugged, trying to be casual. “Kinda nice, I suppose.”

James gave him a shy smile and closed the small gap between them again. They looked into each other’s eyes, and Oliver had to fight to fend off his nervous giggles. Finally they focused on each other’s mouths and began to lean in and tilt their heads.

The kiss intensified quickly. This time, when James’s tongue ventured forth, there was no nervous laughter, only eager suckling and a soft moan from Oliver. Almost involuntarily, James emitted his own answering little moan.

Finally, James broke the kiss, pulled away and began to remove his shirt and jumper. He tried to do this all at once, grabbing both by their hems and pulling them up at the same time. His head became stuck and for a few seconds Oliver was able to stare at James’s bare torso without being watched. His eyes landed easily on the highlighted areas, moving from the nipples to the hair at the armpits to the light trail of fur below the bellybutton leading into the jeans, and finally back up to the armpits. It was here his eyes lingered until James finally managed to pull his head free of his shirt and jumper.

James grinned at him as he pulled his arms from the sleeves. “Well, that was graceful. That’s a lot easier when I haven’t been drinking, by the way.”

“Uh-huh,” Oliver replied distractedly.

“What?” asked James, following Oliver’s eyes and glancing down at himself. “What’re you looking at?”

“James,” Oliver began timidly, “can I … well, can you, um …?” He couldn’t get his words out and James was giving him a very puzzled look. With a sigh, Oliver asked, “Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“So, is it okay if I want to do something to you that’s a little … odd?”

“Erm … well, what is it?”

“Well, er, not sure I can say it, actually,” admitted Oliver, looking at James almost apologetically.

“Oh. Well, I guess … you don’t have to tell me first.”

Oliver gulped. “Really? You’re just going to let me do whatever?”

“Well, it’s not ‘whatever’. It’s … well, it’s you. You wouldn’t hurt me.”

“It’s weird, James. I don’t even know why I’m so drawn to it.”

“Well … _is_ it gonna hurt?” James asked with a grin.

“No, of course not.”

James shrugged. “I trust you, Ol. It can’t be any weirder than the two of us snogging in the first place, could it?”

“It might be,” Oliver said softly, taking one of James’s hands in his. He began to slowly raise James’s arm above his head while bringing their faces closer. “I’ll stop if you want me to, okay?”

“Okay,” James whispered back. He closed his eyes as Oliver began nuzzling and kissing his face. He felt fingertips trail down his raised arm and he couldn’t help but smile as Oliver’s fingers neared his armpit. He finally began to giggle and tried to pull away. “I’m sorry,” he laughed. “You’re tickling me.”

“Just try to relax. Here, lie back.” Oliver took hold of his shoulders and guided him back so he rested against the backrest. He then took James’s hands and raised both arms above his head.

“This is an armpit thing, isn’t it?” asked James with a smirk.

“Shh. Put your head back and close your eyes.”

James obeyed, resting his head against the backrest and trying to relax. But he still couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. “Why my armpits?”

“Will you stop?” laughed Oliver. “Just … relax.”

James kept quiet and waited, his elbows bent, his hands clasped behind his head. He felt hot breath on his triceps, he felt lips press against the skin there and then begin to kiss their way down, closer and closer to his armpit. He bit his lip to keep from giggling, determined to stay still and obedient.

 _What am I doing? What am I doing?_ Oliver thought as he kissed around his brother’s armpit; kissing just above the patch of armpit hair. He moved his kisses down the side of it, just skirting the edge of it, flirting with the idea of pressing his lips to it. The scent of his twin pulled him closer and closer to the centre until finally he was pressing his lips to it and inhaling the combination of what was left of the scent of James’s antiperspirant and James’s natural smell.

“Is it doing anything for you?” asked James, still trying not to laugh. Oliver said nothing. His only reply was a firm, wet swipe of his tongue up James’s armpit.

James gasped and dropped both arms. He curled up a bit and hugged his own torso as he stared at his brother in surprise. “Oliver!”

Oliver straightened up a bit and looked worriedly at him. “I’m sorry. I thought that would be okay. I should’ve asked first. I’m sorry.”

James blinked at Oliver, eyes wide with shock as he stared at his regretful brother. James’s mouth began to curl upwards at the corners and he snorted as he began to laugh. “You caught me off guard, is all.”

Relieved, Oliver smiled back. “I’m sorry. You just smell so good.”

 _“There?_ Really?”

“You’d be surprised.”

“I was!” James relaxed and leaned toward him again. “We can keep going if you like.”

“Yeah? Wasn’t too weird for you?”

“Nah. Actually …” James dropped his gaze shyly and added in an embarrassed mumble, “felt kinda cool.”

Oliver felt his heart skip. He leaned forward and kissed James, making a pass through James’s mouth with his tongue. When he pulled back, James nodded and licked his lips.

“Humph,” he said. “So, that’s what my armpit tastes like.”

Oliver punched him playfully in the arm, relieved that James seemed to be taking this well.

“So, what does it do for you?” James murmured, his tone now intimate.

“What? Your smell? You know.”

“Well, yeah, I have an idea, but I get the distinct impression it does a bit more for you than yours does for me. So, tell me, how does it make you feel?” James cuddled close to him, eyes dark and focused on Oliver’s face.

Oliver swallowed hard as he stared into James’s dilated pupils, as he inhaled and his brain registered James’s arousal. “Well, um, it seems to go straight to my … to my dick, you know?” he began sheepishly.

James grinned at his brother’s shyness. “Oh, yeah?” He looked down at Oliver’s crotch, bit his lower lip and looked back up at Oliver’s face from underneath his lashes. “Can I touch?” he whispered.

Oliver gulped again, hesitating. He opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. James, maintaining eye contact, moved his hand onto Oliver’s thigh. His hand inched its way up until his fingers slid onto the bulge at Oliver’s crotch. James could hear the shakiness in Oliver’s breath as he cupped and squeezed his brother.

“Is that okay?” James whispered. Oliver nodded. “Open up for me,” James instructed. Oliver leaned back against the backrest, slouched a bit and spread his legs, his eyes never leaving James’s face. He couldn’t help but press into James’s hand as James began to massage between his legs.

James relaxed against Oliver, nuzzled his neck and played with his hair with his free hand. “We should get a little more comfortable, yeah?” he whispered.

Oliver nodded and watched as James stood and began to unfasten his jeans.

“One of these days I’d really like to know how come every time I have sex, I’m always the first one naked,” said James as he pulled his jeans off his legs, hopping around a bit as he did.

“It’s ’cause you’re a horny little bastard,” laughed Oliver. Then his brain registered what James had just said, heard the words echo in his mind. His expression relaxed. “We’re going to have sex,” he said quietly.

“Well, yeah.” James dropped his jeans and underwear to the floor and stood, tall and proud and completely naked, before his brother. “Bit late to stop now, innit? I mean, we could if you want.” He cocked his head. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“No, no, I don’t want to stop.” Oliver managed to sit up, eyes taking in his twin’s body. They stopped on James’s crotch and lingered there. “This is just, uh …” he began, trying desperately to form a coherent sentence. His mind kept wandering, however, as he stared at his brother’s body. He finally felt a hand on his head and looked up at James’s face. “Er, sorry. Lost my train of thought there.”

“Are you having second thoughts?” James repeated.

Staring up into James’s eyes, Oliver slowly shook his head. “No. I’m sure.”

“What are you thinking about?”

Oliver looked back down at James’s erection. With another gulp he leaned in and put his lips to the head, licked across the slit. He heard James suck in a quick, hiss of a breath and saw his body tense, the stomach and thigh muscles jerking. Oliver looked up at him to check that _he_ wasn’t having second thoughts.

“Fuck,” James breathed. He met Oliver’s eyes, saw the worry in them, and grinned. “I didn’t say stop.”

With a shy little smile, Oliver eagerly began licking again and then finally began sucking. He was encouraged by the soft sounds of arousal that began to float down to meet his ears, but even more encouraging was the way the scent of James’s arousal seemed to spike. Oliver slid down off the sofa, onto his knees before James. He took his brother’s cock deep into his mouth, the head bumping the back of his throat. He inhaled through his nose, sucking in James’s scent. And soon he was completely lost in the task, content and thinking of nothing else.

James watched him, fascinated by how utterly surreal the sight was; his twin at his feet, mouth full of his cock … and loving it. Oliver’s enjoyment was evident in his relaxed face, the way his soft petal eyelids drooped, and in the low little grunts and moans that escaped him and vibrated around James’s shaft. James knotted his fingers in Oliver’s hair, gripping it, petting it, telling him everything he was doing was wonderful.

“I’m gonna come,” James finally gasped, but Oliver already knew this; he could smell it in the way James’s scent spiked again. That coupled with James’s breathing told him exactly what was going to happen. His own heart beat sped up in anticipation. He gripped James’s hips and stepped up his efforts, sucking faster, determined to make his twin feel incredible.

James finally burst in his mouth with a loud, shaky groan. Oliver let the liquid collect in the back of his throat and then finally swallowed, gulping down every drop.

When he was certain James was finished, he let James’s softening prick slide from his mouth and he looked up at James uncertainly. What would James be thinking now? Would he be okay with what they’d just done? Would he freak out?

James loosened his grip on Oliver’s hair and let his hands fall to Oliver’s shoulders. He stared just as uncertainly at his brother. He realised it would be his job to give the all-clear, to let Oliver know everything was all right. Everything was perfectly all right for Oliver, he thought. Oliver had been wanting this.

So, James gave him a little smile and brought his hand to Oliver’s face, gently cupped it and wiped Oliver’s mouth with his thumb. “Er, you got a little something just there,” he said, clearing some moisture from Oliver’s bottom lip.

With a grin, Oliver stood, taking James’s hand from his face and holding it in both his own hands. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be okay after that.”

“Neither was I to be honest.”

“But you are, yeah?”

“Yes, I think so.”

Oliver shuffled his feet, unable to hide his smile.

“What are you waiting for?” asked James. “Aren’t you gonna take me in your arms and ravish me or something?”

Oliver chuckled. “Well, I dunno about that. I’ve never, er, ravished before. And besides I’ve just … had things in my mouth. Not sure if that bothers you.”

“Oh, for god’s sake. Oliver, if the armpit didn’t bother me …”

“I know, but this is a bit different, isn’t it?”

“It’s my own come. You think I’m afraid of my own come?”

“Well, I dunno.”

“You’re the prude, not me, remember?” And with that, James leaned in and kissed Oliver, sweeping his tongue inside Oliver’s mouth. Oliver took James in his arms, feeling the soft skin of his strong back, the firmness of his backside. James brought his arms up and around Oliver’s neck. When the kiss broke, James frowned and licked his lips. “Hm, interesting.”

“What?”

“Tastes a bit like chicken, I think.”

Oliver shook his head. “You’re an idiot, you know that, right?”

With a loving smile, James nipped lightly at his mouth. “Take me upstairs before I change my mind,” he whispered.

 

* * *

James lay on his back on his bed, legs spread and pulled back as far as they’d go. He stared at the ceiling, thinking about what an odd situation this was, having his twin brother’s face buried in his backside like this. He looked down; he could see Oliver’s closed eyes and tousled hair. He looked positively serene, James observed, as he licked and kissed and sucked at James down there, as he pushed his tongue into James’s opening as far as he could. James fidgeted at the sensation. When Oliver began prodding at him with a finger, James tensed.

“Ollie,” he breathed. Oliver gave a soft acknowledging grunt, but didn’t stop or look up. “Oliver, wait.” James touched his hair and Oliver finally looked at him. He raised his face from James’s body and wiped his wet mouth.

“Something wrong? Was I hurting you?”

“No – well, maybe. I’m not sure I’m quite ready for … that.”

“That?”

“Yeah, you know. Stuff … down there.”

Oliver smiled and sat up a bit. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, I should’ve asked first. So, um, would you be adverse to, um … being on the giving end, then?”

James sat up. “No. I can definitely do that,” he replied with a smile. He leaned over to kiss Oliver’s mouth and murmured, “What would you like me to do?”

Oliver hesitated and then finally whispered, “I want you to fuck me.” He couldn’t hide his worry when James’s eyes filled with surprise.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Is that asking too much? We don’t have to.”

“No, no, it’s not that, it’s just …” James grinned. “I didn’t know you liked that.”

“Is it odd?”

“No. It’s just a surprise, that’s all. Have you done that before?”

Oliver looked down sheepishly.

“Shit, you have.” James’s face split into a huge grin. “You never told me!”

“I didn’t know what you’d say.”

“I’d say … Well, fuck, I dunno what I’d say, either,” James laughed. “So, you can guide me, then. This is new territory for me.”

“Yeah, course. Um, first I guess we have to, er, prepare me,” Olive explained, feeling his cheeks heat up with embarrassment. He sat up fully so he could use his hands as he spoke. “You know, we have to … loosen me up a bit.”

“With my fingers, right?”

“Yeah. And, um, by getting me really aroused.”

“What, you’re not already?” James asked, reaching out and taking hold of his twin’s erection.

Oliver looked down at that, smiling softly at how easily they were touching each other now. For a moment he wondered how much of this was just the effects of alcohol for James, but quickly pushed that thought away, reached over to grip James’s erection too and looked up into his eyes. “Of course I am,” he replied. “But we can take me a lot further.” He stroked James’s cock, sliding his fingers up and over the head a few times. He then brought his hand up to his own face, to his nose, and inhaled deeply. “This right here’s a good start,” he sighed as he exhaled.

James gave him a hot little smile. “Well, let’s get started then.”

James let Oliver explore his body, let him lick and smell him all over. Finally they were spooned together, James in front, Oliver kissing and biting his neck and breathing in the subtle scents of arousal and sweat that hung there. Oliver slid his hand down James’s arm, took hold of his hand and brought it up to his face. He licked James’s fingers, wetting them thoroughly, and then brought that hand down and around to his own bottom.

“Find my hole,” he whispered against James’s moist skin, “and slide a finger in.”

“Sure?”

“Yeah.” Oliver slid his leg overtop of James’s, hooking it around them, enveloping James and holding him snugly against himself.

James turned his face up to look back at his brother as his fingers went searching, thumb and ring finger gently parting skin, middle finger sliding along the crease and finally landing on what it wanted. Looking into Oliver’s eyes, James teased the opening; gently rimming it, and finally began to slide the tip of his finger inside. He felt Oliver’s muscles tense and release, felt Oliver’s body arch as he pushed back against the probing finger. Seeing no signs of discomfort on Oliver’s face, James slowly pushed his finger all the way in. With a soft groan, Oliver latched onto James’s mouth, kissed him tenderly as James explored his insides.

When Oliver finally felt ready, they both turned over, switching positions. For a moment, Oliver lay on his back, happily doing the honours of slicking lubricant along his brother’s shaft, his eyes meeting James’s as he did this. Something about this, being naked with his brother and touching him this way, feeling the faint pulsing in James’s warm prick, like a tiny heart beat, made his heart swell in his chest.

“What’s wrong?” whispered James. “Second thoughts?”

Oliver shook his head. “No. I just love you, that’s all.”

James’s expression softened. “I love you too.”

With one more kiss, Oliver rolled onto his side, back to James, and arched his back; pushing his bottom out a bit, offering himself to James. As James carefully began to slide inside, he kissed and sucked Oliver’s earlobe, murmured softly to him.

“Sure you’re okay?” he whispered.

Oliver began to breathe harder as James filled him up. “I’m okay,” he panted. “Just go deeper, baby. Deep as you can.” He vaguely registered what he’d just called his brother. It had slipped out so naturally, and he was immediately concerned about the effect it might have. But as James pushed deeper inside, all worry was pushed to the back of his mind and he began to feel as though he could say so much more.

That little term of endearment, that softly whispered ‘baby’ caught James by surprise. He looked down at his twin, something in him responding very strongly to the nickname, as though it had been spoken by a pretty girl he liked. Unsure what to think of that, he ignored it.

Propped up on his elbow, James began to thrust and gazed down at Oliver, fascinated by his reactions, by the way he was breathing, by his noises, by the way he clenched his teeth, by the way he reached back to grip James’s hip as though to pull him deeper inside, by the things he said.

“Yeah, that’s it,” groaned Oliver as James began to thrust harder. “Fuck me, baby. God, you’re so good. Oh, fuck, you should’ve been my first.”

This last statement caught James by surprise too. “Yeah?” he breathed into Oliver’s ear.

“Oh, yeah, I should’ve waited for you. Should’ve waited to let you have me.”

Something inside James agreed wholeheartedly with these words and his heart rate seemed to increase just at the sound of them on his brother’s lips. “I like that,” he grunted, thrusting even harder. “Like the way that sounds.”

“Really?” Oliver panted. “Well, it’s true. Should’ve let you have me first,” he repeated, encouraging James.

“Should’ve had you first,” James echoed, mouth and nose buried in Oliver’s neck. “You should’ve been mine.”

Oliver looked up at him with slightly dazed eyes. “I am yours,” he replied. “I always have been.”

James gazed into his eyes, everything about this feeling so surreal, and yet completely right. Could they really say these things to each other and then act normally when it was over? At that moment, with pleasure coursing through him, he decided he really couldn’t care less. He held onto Oliver tightly, possessively, relishing in their damp heat, in the sweat that covered them, in the warm scent of their sex, and in the way it seemed to make his head swim.

Oliver could almost feel a sense of ownership in James’s embrace now and as James began to fuck him harder still, as James took hold of his cock, held it as easily as if it were his own, and began to stroke it for him, he couldn’t help but feel as if James was claiming him somehow, was finally accepting what had been his all along.

And when James finally began to spurt deep inside him, he couldn’t stop himself from daring to believe, from daring to hope, that this wouldn’t all disappear in the light of the coming day.

 

* * *

Oliver woke slowly late the next morning. He opened his eyes and stretched, bumping his leg against something lying next to him. He looked over at the smooth skin of his brother’s back and grinned. He then glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. With a groan he sat up, rubbed a hand over his face, fingers through his hair, tried to convince himself to actually get out of bed.

He looked over at his sleeping brother again. _I could just spend the whole day in bed with you,_ he thought. But he had things to do that day and knew James probably did as well. With a sigh he looked away and sat there, hunched over his lap, replaying last night’s events in his head. Had all that really happened? Had he really licked James’s armpit? He slapped a hand over his eyes and chuckled softly as he remembered. Had James really been inside him? He clenched a bit, testing to see how his backside was feeling. Yes, something had definitely been in there.

“Fuck,” he whispered, rubbing his eyes with both hands. He decided he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be there when James finally woke up, wasn’t sure if he wanted to deal with the Morning After so soon. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, put his feet on the floor and was about to stand when a hand touched his back.

He looked over his shoulder. James was looking groggily up at him. “Good morning,” he said.

“Hey,” said Oliver, turning back to him. “Um … sleep well?”

“Alright, yeah.” With a huge yawn, James sat up. “So,” he said.

“So.”

“We don’t have to talk about it now.”

“We can if you want,” said Oliver, looking down at his lap and twisting the blanket between his fingers.

“Well, I dunno if ‘want’ is the right word exactly.”

“But … we might need to,” Oliver said quietly. He looked cautiously over at James and they stared at each other in silence for a moment, until Oliver averted his eyes again. “We probably should. I mean, we don’t have to, but we should.” He hazarded another look at James. “Shouldn’t we?”

“Yeah.” A smile spread across James’s face. “I fucked you,” he said, nudging Oliver with his shoulder.

“Oh, god,” laughed Oliver, dropping his face into his hand.

“Heh, that’s what you said last night.”

“James!” said Oliver with another laugh and a sharp elbow to James’s ribs. “Seriously. What happens now?”

James sobered a bit. “I dunno. What do you want to happen?”

Oliver hesitated. “I want … to do it again.”

A shy smile tugged at a corner of James’s mouth. “I have morning breath,” he warned.

“So, do I.”

They sat side-by-side on the bed for a long, quiet moment, sharing an intimate and uncertain gaze, each afraid to make the first move. James wondered if it would be easier to just walk away and go back to his normal life, pretend last night hadn’t happened, pretend Oliver hadn’t ever called him ‘baby’, hadn’t admitted to wishing James had taken his virginity. Would it just be easier, or even possible, to pretend he, James, had never felt the deep, almost painful, possessiveness of a lover as he’d made love to his brother?

“This is madness, you know,” he whispered, even as he found himself leaning closer.

“No one has to know,” whispered Oliver, leaning in, too. “Your words. Remember?”

James nodded. “I remember. Believe it or not,” he added with a grin.

“You weren’t that drunk.”

James’s grin faded. He shook his head in agreement. “No. I wasn’t.”

They closed the gap, their lips coming together perfectly, like puzzle pieces that had been missing each other. James’s arm found Oliver’s waist, snaked around it and pulled him closer.

Oliver’s hands went up to cup James’s face as he tilted his own head to make the kiss deeper. He was ready to get lost in this again, to let it happen, he was already beginning to lose interest in anything else he had to do that day, but his rational mind yanked him back, out of the pleasure. He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to James’s.

“I’m playing football in the park in an hour,” he murmured. “We don’t have time.”

“It’s just as well,” sighed James. “I, um … have a date to get ready for.”

Oliver’s eyes popped open and he pulled back, released James’s face and cleared his throat. “Oh.”

“You don’t know her. I met her last night. We made a lunch date.”

“Yeah, okay.”

James bit his lip as he watched Oliver get up out of bed and begin to dress. “Are you upset?” he asked.

“No, course not.”

“’Cause I was gonna tell you.” James scrambled out of bed, dragging a sheet with him, wrapping it around his waist. “It’s just, you know, things started to happen and I guess it just … slipped my mind.”

Oliver zipped up his jeans and turned to face James. “It’s okay. I didn’t think anything would come of this. I’m not stupid.”

James was unsure how to respond. He stared quietly back at Oliver, a worry-filled crease between his brows.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Oliver grumbled, turning away and bending to pick up his shirt.

“Like what?”

“Like you pity me.”

“I don’t.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Hey, come on, look at me.” James stepped around to stand in front of Oliver. “I forgot all about her, you know? When things started to happen last night, I completely forgot. I didn’t remember anything about the date until the moment before I mentioned it just now.”

“And that wasn’t just the alcohol?”

“I wasn’t that drunk, remember? I can call and cancel if you want.”

“I don’t want you to do anything. You’re my brother for god’s sake. What are we supposed to do, start dating each other? Besides, I have my football game, so no point in you cancelling your plans … Stop looking at me like that!”

“I’m not …” James sighed and fell silent, staring off at nothing. “It wasn’t just you,” he finally said.

“What’s that mean?”

“Who felt something last night. It wasn’t just you. I know you think it was. I know you’re feel stupid now for making assumptions or for … hoping. I had the same thoughts you did. I felt the same things.” Oliver said nothing. James met his eyes again. “I completely forgot about her,” James repeated, stepping a bit closer. “And to be honest I find that a bit scary.”

Oliver wanted to protest, but he knew he couldn’t. He’d felt the change in James last night, had felt James claiming him. He could almost still smell the damp musk they’d created together, almost still feel James’s moist body against his. It was James’s sweat that had dried on his skin in the night, branding him. James had marked him in so many ways and had seemed to want to.

Oliver wanted to be happy that James was actually thinking seriously about all of this, but the fact that James wasn’t sure he didn’t want it only seemed to complicate things. And he couldn’t even be sure that James still felt now the way he had last night.

“So, what do you want to do?” Oliver finally asked.

“I don’t know. It seems like it would be so easy for us to just …”

Oliver looked at him. “What? Just forget it, pretend it never happened? I can do that if you want. We probably should, anyway.”

“Well, no. I was going to say for us to … be lovers.”

Oliver froze, stared at him in silence.

“I mean, if that weren’t completely unrealistic.”

With a nod, Oliver looked down. “Right.”

“Doing it once was one thing –”

“Yeah, but it would be silly to think that we could …” Oliver trailed off and looked at him again. James was staring back.

“We should talk when we get home,” said James. Oliver nodded in agreement. “We could talk over dinner.”

“What’s that, a date?” asked Oliver with a grin.

James laughed and dropping his gaze for a moment. When he looked up again, Oliver thought he saw a hopeful twinkle in his eyes.

“Wanna come shower with me?” asked James, his voice low, and he dropped the sheet he’d been holding round his waist.

Oliver couldn’t help but look down at his brother’s body. He hesitated, but finally replied, “No, I don’t have time. I have less than an hour to get to the park now.”

“Okay, okay. Go shower then.”

With a smile, Oliver turned and headed for the door.

“I’ll pick up a bottle of wine on my way home,” James called to him.

Oliver stopped at the door and looked back at him. “What for?”

“Why not?” asked James as he pulled on his underwear. “Wine with dinner will be nice, won’t it?”

“But what’s wrong with the beer we’ve got? What’s the occasion?”

James picked up his shirt and began to turn it right-side-out. He gave a little shrug and looked coyly over his shoulder at his brother. “Nothing special.”

Oliver stared into his eyes, trying to figure out what James really meant, but James soon looked away and continued to dress. Oliver stepped quietly out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He stood there a moment considering what might’ve been going through his brother’s head just then, all the possibilities, the hopeful sparkle in James’s eyes, the wine …

 _Nah,_ he thought, finally walking away from the door, but he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, a hint of something hopeful in his own eyes.

END


End file.
